Martin fans can now rejoice.
The ever-popular Fox sitcom, which ran from 1992-1997, is going to celebrate its 30th anniversary this year with a reunion special on BET+, set to be filmed on Feb. 20. Appearing in the Affion Crockett-hosted reunion, per Entertainment Weekly, will be Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, Tichina Arnold, and Carl Anthony Payne II. It’s still unclear how the reunion plans to honor cast mate Thomas Mikal Ford, who died back in 2016.
“To be able to sit here thirty years later with this amazing cast that has had such an impact on pop culture is truly a blessing,” Lawrence said. “I am always humbled that the fans still want more of the show and its characters. I am looking forward to the reunion special.”
Talk of a reunion of sorts has been going on for a minute, as Arnold and Campbell previously appeared on the Tamron Hall Show last April and revealed that the show likely won’t have a reboot following Ford’s death. Arnold said that “a show can never be a reboot without the original cast,” but that a reunion was “maybe” possible.
“[A reboot is] something that we wanted to happen,” Arnold said. “It’s something that we tried very hard for it to happen, but the way it looks to me, realistically, it’s not going to happen. Not unless it’s an animation.”
As People reports, Campbell sued Lawrence and the show’s producers for “repeated and escalating sexual harassment, sexual battery, verbal abuse and related threats” in 1997. The two later reconciled, with Campbell revealing in 2020 that “we’re in a good place right now.”
“Martin is one of the most beloved sitcoms in our community, both because it is hugely entertaining and because it played a pivotal role in changing the narrative of Black voices in entertainment and in culture through the portrayal of young, ambitious Black leads and healthy Black relationships,” said Scott Mills, CEO of BET. “Decades later, that representation is still just as important, which is why we’re so excited to honor a series that put Black culture front and center on our platform that embraces Black culture everyday.”
The special will be produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment and arrive later this year.
